Are you looking for new LMS?

If you are looking to buy an LMS or learning management system, you would have surely come across Blackboard, Sumtotal, Moodle, Saba, eFront or Dokeos. You do not have a clear picture in your mind as to what exactly you require, and to top it up there are tons of solutions to choose from. So how would you choose an LMS that satisfies all your needs and meets your expectations?

Over the time we have interacted with a lot of potential customers, and generally we have a good idea of what people require. Most of the times people want to buy what they can afford, making the open source or free solutions option particularly attractive. 

On the contrary what people actually want is a solution rather than a price tag or technology. People are often unable to communicate their actual needs, which makes it easier to support a decision of buying a free product like Moodle, or a premium product like IBM. Eventually you buy a solution to solve your problem. But what if it does not fit your needs and organization? You are still left with the initial problem and on top of that a bad experience of the wrong purchase. Even if your selection fulfils a part of your needs, you still have the risk of suboptimal adoption or usage. Simply put, it means that your return of investment on the solution is around zero.

So how exactly do you choose? Personally I would recommend potential buyers and adopters to select a learning management system based on their core requirements rather than visual or functional enhancements. If you are buying a LMS for the first time be ready to deal with a lot of issues like content and convincing people to use the system. A piece of advice; don’t stress overly about selecting a learning management system at the expense of all other decisions. 

Make sure that your core requirements are absolutely clear, else take your time and reconsider you decision. A lot of people don’t choose a learning management system for their additional functionalities, because added features mean added complexity. I would suggest that let your needs evolve naturally rather than enforcing everything at once in your organization. To begin with go for a simple LMS, which is easy to maintain, visually appealing, and comfortable for the people who would be using it. Check for an advanced version or a better solution as and when your needs exceed the current LMS’ capabilities. Remember, taking two steps at a time will run you the risk of hitting the wall, and ruining a successful journey.